Tones And I’s ‘Dance Monkey’ hits Spotify milestone: a glance at the numbers so far
‘Dance Monkey’ is no longer king of the jungle, though its still going strong.
In less than a year, Tones And I’s monster hit has etched its name in the history books on both sides of the globe, leaving some giant-killers in its dust.
On the latest ARIA Singles Chart, ‘Dance Monkey’ was ousted from top spot by The Weeknd’s ‘Blinding Lights,’ seemingly ending its ridiculous streak at 24 weeks.
That’s just one cycle shy of a quarter century at No. 1 on the official sales survey for a top 10 recorded music market. Nothing has come close.
‘Dance Monkey’ did briefly slip from its perch in early 2020, when Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’ completed a 25-year marathon to the summit.
The “Queen of Christmas” did her dash, a Like A Version cover by German folkie duo gave ‘Dance Monkey’ a boost, and the track bounced back. Now, it may be bouncing slowing down the chart.
With talk of new Tones songs dropping sometime soon, and the single hitting a major milestone today on Spotify, TIO takes a look back at some of ‘Dance Monkey’s’ best moves.
Watch the official music video for ‘Dance Monkey’:
— ‘Dance Monkey’ completed 24 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart, streets ahead of the previous record held by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Shape of You’, at 15 weeks. It’s certified eight-times platinum in Australia.
— The long run smashed the previous record for a solo female artist (10 weeks), previously jointly-held by Sandi Thom’s ‘I Wish I Was a Punk Rocker (With Flowers in My Hair)’ (2010) and Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992/93).
— In the U.K., ‘Dance Monkey’ ruled the singles chart for 11 consecutive weeks, a record for a solo female act, eclipsing the 10 week reign of Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’ (2007) and Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ (1992).
Tones And I celebrates her U.K. No. 1:
— In the United States, ‘Dance Monkey’ climbed into the top 10 after 10 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100. It has a peak position of seven in its 16 frames on the survey. Look for it to climb next week.
Watch Tones And I make her U.S. TV debut:
— So far, the viral track has ruled the charts in more than 30 territories.
— Tones earned eight nominations for the 2019 ARIA Awards, taking home four pointed trophies, including wins for female artist and breakthrough artist.
— On the same day as the ARIAs, Tones was announced as the first Australian added to YouTube’s Artist on the Rise programme, launched in 2018 to “support and help more artists get discovered at every phase of their career.” The song is “WOW,” commented Lyor Cohen, Global Head of Music at YouTube.
Tones And I performs at the 2019 ARIA Awards:
— Tones (real name Toni Watson) performed on AFL Grand Final Day, on the U.S. ‘The Voice’ and ‘The Tonight Show’.
— ‘Dance Monkey’ raced to 1 billion streams in roughly six months after its May 10, 2019 release, faster than any other recording by an Aussie artist.
— Today, Dance Monkey hits 1 billion plays on Spotify.
Watch Milky Chance cover ‘Dance Monkey’:
— It’s now at 1.8 billion streams globally across all platforms. That’s excluding the 600 million-plus plays on YouTube.
— It’s the most Shazamed song ever with 27.5 million “Shazams”.
— More than 47 million monthly listeners tune in to Tones on Spotify, good enough for top 10 in the world for all artists.
— Tones’ world tour kicks off this weekend and runs through August, and includes slots on some of the world’s biggest festival stages. So far, 95% of her concert tickets are sold out.
Not bad for a former busker from Australia with just one EP, and zero spend on publicity.
This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.